Blind Tekken 8 player reaches one of the game’s highest ranks after two years of grinding

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A Tekken 8 player is gaining admiration from the fighting game community by achieving the highest rank, ‘God,’ despite being blind in one eye and having severely limited vision in the other. Their accomplishment is a source of inspiration for many.

BlindGuitarFox streams on Twitch and competes in Tekken, despite being born with glaucoma in both eyes.

Glaucoma is a serious eye disease where fluid builds up inside the eye. It’s often hard to notice early on because there are usually no symptoms. Over time, this fluid increases pressure, which can damage the nerve that connects your eye to your brain, potentially leading to vision loss.

I was so shocked to hear that BlindGuitarFox lost their right eye while playing Tekken 8 when it came out earlier this year! It’s incredible that they’re still playing at a high level, but they’re now relying on just their left eye, which sadly only gives them very blurry, tunnel vision. It’s amazing they can even see the screen, let alone compete!

Even with a lot of challenges, BlindGuitarFox achieved Tekken God rank with Asuka after two years of dedicated practice. This is a very high rank in Tekken 8, just below Tekken God Supreme and above nine ranks of Tekken God of Destruction.

Blind Tekken player wants accessibility improvements after hitting Tekken God

The player shared their strategy on Reddit, saying they focus on dealing as much damage as possible when they can predict what their opponent will do.

As a fan, it’s really heartbreaking to hear that the player has trouble with things like recognizing specific throws or moves, and even figuring out their positioning relative to the wall on certain stages. They explained that every time someone tries to break their throws, it feels like a total gamble because their vision isn’t clear enough to see which hand is coming out first. It’s a tough situation, and it makes me appreciate their skill even more!

I need to anticipate my opponent’s moves to be effective, since my reaction time isn’t fast enough to respond once something happens. So, I focused on maximizing the damage I could do with my preferred character.

The players also shared that they don’t want to use Tekken 8’s accessibility options during tournaments, as they believe it creates an uneven playing field. Because tournament rules require both players to share the same screen and PlayStation 5 console, both would be affected by the accessibility features, which isn’t fair to those who don’t require them.

They were happy the feature existed, but felt it needed a lot of improvement. They also believed it wasn’t fair because the options could be confusing and intimidating for someone who hadn’t seen them before, potentially putting their opponent at a disadvantage.

BlindGuitarFox had been hoping to talk to Tekken 8 producer Katsuhiro Harada about making some improvements, but since he’s no longer working on the game, they’ll need to find someone else to discuss it with.

I gotta say, a huge inspiration for me was BlindWarriorSven. He absolutely blew up after winning a match at Evo 2023 while playing blindfolded – it was seriously amazing and showed me anything is possible in fighting games, even with a disability!

Sven was diagnosed with cancer at age six, which caused him to lose his vision, but he hasn’t let that stop him from becoming a highly skilled Street Fighter player. After gaining attention at the Evo gaming event, Sven achieved the top rank in Street Fighter 6 while live-streaming on Twitch. He attributes his success to the game’s accessibility options, such as sound cues and customizable controls, which he says create a fairer competition for everyone.

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2026-02-23 22:49